The American Civil Rights Movement in US History

The civil rights movement was a four-century legacy in American history that resulted in the end of racism, slavery, and white supremacy. The discrimination associated with white supremacy was central in the political, economic, and social development in the United States. The African-American search of civil liberties was encouraged by the conventional American democracy promise and the assumption in the declaration of independence that every American was supposed to be equal. Under the declaration of independence, the constitution provided unalienable rights of every American’s life, the pursuit of happiness, and liberty despite the counting of enslaved Blacks, which the constitution initially tolerated. There was a need for the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s when the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution failed to grant fundamental civil rights for all.

While the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution granted fundamental civil rights for all, enforcing the voting and legal rights in the Southern states lapsed due to the reconstruction failure between 1865-1877. Moreover, with the removal of the federal troops from these states, the Southern states reinstated the problem of white supremacy and suppressed the voting rights of the African-Americans¹. The outcome of the suppression led to the creation of the Jim Crow segregation system in the south, where the African-Americans were denied their full citizenship rights and were prohibited from thriving economically². Based on the segregation, the African-Americans had developed a rebellious to the laws that oppressed them, restricting them from achieving the same privileges as their White counterparts. According to Rosa Parks, “I had almost a life history of being rebellious against being mistreated because of my color,” and the feeling associated with that was “I felt that I was not being treated right.”³.

In the Southern states, fighting for freedom began with Rosa Park’s unplanned protest after she decided to retain the seat she had taken. According to Rosa, the decision to retain her seat was her fight “for her natural and constitutional rights when she protested against the treatment that stripped away from her dignity.”⁴. Hers was an attempt to “bring about freedom from this kind of thing.”⁵. The impact of the Jim Crow segregation system indentured the inalienable rights of the African-Americans’ pursuit of happiness, liberty, and life where the Blacks were denied gender or racial distinctions.⁶. For example, in the 1950s, the federal system of the time-restricted Black riders to sit between the whites-only section of the bus. However, despite the absence of vacant seats, Rosa Parks was arrested for violating the segregation laws when she refused to give her seat to a White man.⁷.

The decision to retain her seat became the starting point for the civil rights movements and later reforms in the Southern states. Elsewhere, the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) chose Martin Luther King Junior as its advocate of the nonviolent resistance concepts. According to King, “The time was always right to do what was right.”⁸. The leader believed the disadvantage experienced by the African-Americans was a full denial of their citizenship rights, which prevented Blacks from achieving economic prosperity, especially among those in the rural regions of the country.⁹. King argued that “darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”¹⁰. Therefore, abolishing the Jim Crow segregation system was the only way the African-Americans in the south could enjoy equality.

The National Association for the Achievement of Colored People (NAACP) also became involved in the civil rights movements. With the responsibility of dismantling racism, disrupting inequality, and accelerating change in the main regions, including health care, criminal justice, climate, education, and the economy, NAACP joined the fight to desegregate the bus system.¹¹. The association won a Supreme Court order in November 1956, desegregating the bus system.¹². King’s fight against discrimination continued with his supporters forming the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), where the institution offered a framework that supported local protest movements. King’s activism was founded on the understanding that “injustice anywhere was a threat to justice everywhere,” and “African-Americans were caught in an inescapable mutuality network”¹³. Due to this network, King argued that African-Americans were tied within a single garment of destiny where any effect on one Black was an effect on all Blacks.¹⁴. That understanding informed King’s reason for stating that “our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter,” and segregation and the denial of fundamental rights and examples of such matters.¹⁵.

The need for the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s was contributed by the desire to end the Jim Crow segregation system in the Southern states. Despite the U.S. Constitution providing equal liberty, pursuit, and life through the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, restricting African-Americans’ voting and legal rights. The civil rights movements were essential in U.S. history since they played a significant role in dismantling the discrimination practices during the Jim Crow era. Through the movements, African-Americans gained access to full citizenship rights and were allowed to prosper economically.

Bibliography

Ballantyne, David T. “The American Civil Rights Movement, 1865–1950: Black Agency and People of Good Will by Russell Brooker (review).” The Journal of southern history 84, no. 3 (2018): 771–773.

Briscoe, Dolph. “Black Americans and the Civil Rights Movement in the West Ed. by Bruce A. Glasrud, Cary D. Wintz (review).” Southwestern historical quarterly 123, no. 2 (2019): 248–250.

Hunt, Megan, Benjamin Houston, Brian Ward, and Nick Megoran. “‘He Was Shot Because America Will Not Give Up on Racism’: Martin Luther King Jr. and the African American Civil Rights Movement in British Schools.” Journal of American studies 55, no. 2 (2021): 387–417.

Melissa R. Mosley. “Highlander Research and Education Center.” Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc, 2020.

Parks, Rosa, and Marcia M. Greenlee. 1978. Interview with Rosa Parks.

Davis, and Martin Luther King. 1963. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. statements, speeches, and other material. African American History Collection, 1850-1967.

Footnotes

1. Ballantyne, David T. “The American Civil Rights Movement, 1865–1950: Black Agency and People of Good Will by Russell Brooker (review).” The Journal of southern history 84, no. 3 (2018): 771–773.
2. Melissa R. Mosley. “Highlander Research and Education Center.” Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc, 2020.
3. Parks, Rosa, and Marcia M. Greenlee. 1978. Interview with Rosa Parks. 1976.
4. Parks and Marcia (1976).
5. Parks and Marcia (1976).
6. Hunt, Megan, Benjamin Houston, Brian Ward, and Nick Megoran. “‘He Was Shot Because America Will Not Give Up on Racism’: Martin Luther King Jr. and the African American Civil Rights Movement in British Schools.” Journal of American studies 55, no. 2 (2021): 387–417.
7. Ballantyne (2018).
8. Davis, and Martin Luther King. 1963. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. statements, speeches, and other material. African American History Collection, 1850-1967.
9. Hunt et al. (2021).
10. Davis, and Martin (1963).
11. Briscoe, Dolph. “Black Americans and the Civil Rights Movement in the West Ed. by Bruce A. Glasrud, Cary D. Wintz (review).” Southwestern historical quarterly 123, no. 2 (2019): 248–250.
12. Briscoe (2019).
13. Davis, and Martin (1963).
14. Melissa (2020).
15. Davis, and Martin (1963).